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What to do in.....: Berlin Part II

If you plan to visit Germany (hopefully we will be able to travel again soon) you might want to know where to go and what to do. In that case, we got you covered!



Since this page is called "Learngermanonline030" you will not be surprised to learn that I consider Berlin the best city in the universe. Therefore, we will kick off this series with things to do in Berlin. Considering Berlin is the best city in the world there are many things to name, which means there will be several posts about Berlin. This is the third part: Museums & "Culture."


1. Boros Collection - Mitte

The Boros Collection is a private collection of contemporary art by Karen and Christian Boros, which has been on display since 2008 in a World War II-era bunker(called the Reichsbahnbunker) in Berlin, Germany. The collection comprises artworks in the mediums of sculpture, photography, and painting by international contemporary artists. The works are installed on five floors of the bunker, which the architect Jens Casper transformed into a compendium of individual rooms that interconnect on multiple floors. While some rooms were transformed into classic white cube spaces, others still bare traces of the bunker’s lineage when it was used as a prison, storage facility, and techno club. Each exhibition in the bunker additionally includes site-specific works that refer to and interact with the various interior spaces and their history.

You can only visit the collection as part of a guided tour (that you have to book ahead of time). They offered tours in English and German.


2. Spectrum & Technikmusuem - Kreuzberg

The Spectrum is part of the Technikmuseum and a must-visit for kids. However, it is also a really interesting visit for adults as well. The Spectrum contains is a house full of experiments: On 2,000 square meters, 150 experiments from the natural sciences and technology invite visitors to participate. As an experience-oriented extracurricular place of learning, the Spectrum is in the tradition of the Berlin Urania (1888-1928), which followed the ideas of Alexander von Humboldt. The German Museum of Technology in Berlin-Kreuzberg is one of the world's leading technology museums. It is located on the historic site of the Gleisdreieck transportation hub and the Anhalter freight station. The raisin bomber on the facade of the new building has become an internationally known landmark. Covering 26,500 square meters, it offers an eventful journey of discovery through the cultural history of technology. Fascinating exhibitions on aviation, shipping, rail transport, the world of technical networking and sugar, automobility, film technology, computer history, chemistry and pharmaceuticals and much more can be seen. The idyllic museum park with mills, pond, and brewery is an oasis in the big city.


3. Deutsches Historisches Museum - Mitte

The German History Museum is one of my favorites. It contains what it says - all things German history. It is incredibly well done and informative. You can spend two days there and might not be able to take everything in. In addition to the exhibition, the buildings of the museum are incredible as well. The latest addition to the building was opened in 2003. It was created by Ieoh Ming Pei. Pei's building for the German Historical Museum is his first work in Germany. Transparency, light, and movement are the architectural program. A building-high glass foyer mediates between the triangular structure and the Zeughaus.



4. Berliner Dom - Mitte

The magnificent neo-Renaissance building is located in the heart of the capital on the Lustgarten. With its imposing architecture, the four towers, the almost 100-meter high dome, and the golden cross, it is visible from afar and has become one of Berlin's landmarks. In its immediate vicinity is the World Heritage Site Museum Island, the German Historical Museum, and the new Humboldt Forum in the Berlin Palace. You can visit the building and tour it. You can also attend a service - services are offered in German and English.


5. Urban nation - Schöneberg

Since the opening in September 2017, the URBAN NATION MUSEUM FOR URBAN CONTEMPORARY ART has offered visitors a varied insight into the history of urban contemporary art in changing exhibitions. This is the place when you are interested in anything contemporary art.


6. Naturkundemuseum

Do you like dinosaurs? Do you want to see a humongous dinosaur skeleton? Then you need to check out the Naturkundemuseum. It is a really big museum that covers anything nature that you can imagine.


7. Berliner Ensemble - Mitte

If you speak German I strongly recommend a visit to the Berliner Ensemble, which is my favorite theater. It was established by actress Helene Weigel and her husband, playwright Bertolt Brecht, in January 1949 in East Berlin. Named after Bertolt Brecht’s world-famous company, Berliner Ensemble has written theatre history. Throughout its 125-year history, the theatre on Schiffbauerdamm has always addressed issues of current social relevance, and from the 2017/18 season, the beginning of Oliver Reese’s tenure as Artistic Director, Berliner Ensemble once again places a stronger focus on contemporary texts and topics. In the tradition of its former Artistic Directors, Bertolt Brecht, and Heiner Müller, and under its new director Oliver Reese, Berliner Ensemble directs its attention on theatre that reflects upon our present times. Besides works by Bertolt Brecht, the repertoire features current topics and contemporary plays by living authors examining the urgent issues of our times on stage. The significance of international contemporary drama is reflected especially in a program for authors, which aims to attract new authors for the stage, and a repertoire featuring many international plays from countries like England, the US, Norway, France, and Congo.



8. KÖNIG GALERIE - Kreuzberg

KÖNIG GALERIE was founded in Berlin by Johann König in 2002, and currently represents 40 international emergings and established artists, mostly belonging to a younger generation. The program’s focus is on interdisciplinary, concept-oriented, and space-based approaches in a variety of media including sculpture, video, sound, painting, printmaking, photography, and performance. In May 2015, KÖNIG GALERIE took up St. Agnes, a monumental former church built in the 1960s in the Brutalist style, where museum-like exhibitions take place in two different spaces, the former chapel, and nave. KÖNIG GALERIE regularly participates in international art fairs such as Art Basel fairs and Frieze Art fairs. The gallery has successfully placed works in a variety of private and public collections, including the Museum of Modern Art in New York and the Guggenheim Foundation.



What are your favorite museums in Berlin? Please share your tips in the comments!

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